The mad roars were a prelude, telling them that the stronger beasts were finally going to make a move, and while the weaker disciples would have to deal with those at the second stage, the other talents would have to fight with those at the third and fourth stage.
The one leading the horde, the last boss, would only show up in the end when all its minions were taken care of. Something that, on a side note, Yueshi found curious.
"Those at the first stage, retreat and climb up the wall. Those at the second stage, retreat closer to the wall, at any sign of danger do not hesitate to climb up too!" Taking a good glance at his companions, Yueshi ordered so and then looked ahead.
He knew he'd have no time to focus nor help them from now on.
Just as his words ended, and eight meters tall lion jumped out of the beast wave.
The demon beast was completely black and it had a certain majestic aura to it. Its cold, piercing gray eyes made it look like a tyrant that cared little for those around him.
However, instead of being afraid, Yueshi merely snickered.
"A cat that swings its tail for another, yet it still dares to act all proud and aloof…" While commenting so, he stopped what he was doing and focused solely on it.
The big lion seemed to understand his words as it released a roar toward the sky. As intelligent as it was, still true to its instincts, and as a proud demon beast, it became furious when its pride was challenged.
As it roared and then stared at Yueshi, one could see its eyes blazing like two black, hellish flames.
It had clearly been enraged and it was ready to devour the pitiful human in front of it.
Seeing the beast's eyes, Yueshi did not speak anymore and gripped his spear firmly.
As the others retreated, the area where he stood was not overrun by the beasts as one would expect; instead, the beasts avoided the region where he stood, giving him and the black lion space to fight.
This was the deference of the weak toward the strong, and seeing it, Yueshi was almost sure this big guy was among the strongest invading beasts.
However, having improved his cultivation, he was not afraid. He lacked cultivation techniques compared to his fellow disciples, but his spear arts easily made up for that.
Yet, when the big lion opened its mouth, Yueshi's eyes trembled for a moment. Inside its open maw, one could see a black ball made of energy forming, with sparks of black lightning surrounding it.
A single look was enough to know that it was no weak attack, and even Yueshi needed to take it seriously.
Narrowing his eyes, Yueshi lunged forward, charging toward the big demon beast.
The enormous lion, leaning on its front paws, soon released a massive roar. The black ball of energy then flew from its mouth, spinning as it made its way forward; mid-air, it changed in a conical shape as it traveled forth.
At first, Yueshi wanted to dodge, however, he decided against it. The others were still retreating, and if he let the attack pass, they would be implicated for sure.
'Man and spear as one! One point of extremity carves an everlasting path to heavens!' Breathing in deeply, he executed his first spear move.
While it lacked the domineering nature of the second movement, it also drained less of his mental energy and did not place that much of a burden in his body.
Their strikes collided in a deafening explosion, and Yueshi felt his organs churning inside of his body. The cone-shaped mass of energy had exploded against him, and snake-like lightning seemed to have bitten at his body.
The shockwave had sent him flying back, and the thunder element in the attack charred his hands and body, leaving burnt marks along his arm.
The most surprising was that the close explosion seemed to have caused some internal damage, as a streak of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.
Yet, Yueshi did not groan nor complain. The only thing he did was make a mental note that he had been complacent, that a higher level beast was not the same as a low-level one.
At the same time, he admitted he had been lucky that the perverted bison was an idiot that was fixed on the idea of a head-on, strength-based, confrontation. Or else, if it had also relied on its bloodline powers and techniques, he might have lost.
Shaking his head, he left that aside. There was no need to think about that subject anymore.
Yueshi also wasn't going to give up just because of that.
This battle would be a bit hard, but he was still confident he could win without using the Dragon Seal. Because of that, he confidently stepped forward, once more rushing toward the demonic lion, more than ready to confront it.
The lion would also not stay there just waiting for him. After leaning on its front paws, it jumped, moving so fast that it looked like a black blur in most people's eyes.
However, Yueshi could perfectly see. And once he saw the beast approaching, his spear flew forward like a dragon, unafraid of anything.
Unfortunately for him, his attack was not as effective as he desired.
As his spear moved forward the beast swiped with its paws, the collision between the two creating a shock-wave that raised dust and a few chunks of the ground, sending them flying away.
Also, while Yueshi had to take a while to push his spear back to send another attack because of the recoil, the lion seemed unaffected by that and could easily attack again. And so it did.
Its other paw swept toward Yueshi with great momentum and power, and Yueshi did not doubt it would be extremely painful to be hit – at least a few bones would be broken, to not talk about the sharp claws that would tear his flesh.
If he was the same as the Yueshi from the outer disciple examination, he would try sweeping his spear at the big lion in an attempt of stopping it.
However, he had learned how to better move his body and be more flexible with his movements; giving a somersault in the air, he saw the claw sweep below him, creating airwaves.
Immediately after, he followed with a thrust as he descended, aiming at the beast's eyes.
The black lion felt annoyed by the mice it was preying upon, however, although it was agitated and angry, it would not act foolishly just because of that.
The eyes were a weak spot that almost all living beings shared – they were soft and could be easily damaged. Moreover, all low-level cultivators relied on them to see, so letting it be damaged would be a death sentence.
In a hush, the lion slightly tilted its head to the side, making the spear scrap at its face, only incurring a small cut on its cheek.
Yueshi, having already expected such an outcome, merely jumped backward after falling to the ground, increasing the distance between them.
The cut seemed to enrage the creature, but it also made it visibly more cautious and serious.
Gazing at Yueshi coldly, it flexed its limbs as black lightning started to crackle at its paws. Then it started to spread across its entire body like a veil, the lightning turning and changing shape, moving like small snakes.
Clad in its mantle of black lightning, the demon beast's maniacal eyes glowed colder as it rushed forward.
This time, compared to before, it was even faster and had even greater momentum behind its attack.
Moreover, as it did not just simply lunge forward with a single leap, and, instead, ran with steady and powerful steps, it could easily change its direction to deal with any of Yueshi's moves.
Feeling the immense power behind his opponent's attack, Yueshi knew he could not continue holding back the seal's power. Even if just a bit, he needed it to deal with the following charge, or else it would be too dangerous.
That being so, he did not hesitate anymore, the symbol on his nape glowing softly as a great amount of energy cursed through his body in that instant.
"Let you be the first to experience it, then!" After fighting head-on against the perverted bison, Yueshi had gained enlightenment - or at least something of the sort. Thanks to it, he walked further in his spear arts path, developing its third move.
'Man and spear as one! One point of extremity carves a path of blood and carnage!' The image he had of his spear was that of a spear that could move ever onward, that could destroy anything in its path.
At its core, it was not about being overbearing, fast, or flexible; it was not about being steady, precise, or unpredictable. His spear existed for the sake of destruction – for the sake of carving a road that would never fade, breaking through the firmament and challenging the Heavens.
Through his confrontation with the bison, pure strength against pure strength, the image became deeper and more solid.
Spear aura, dragon roar, dragon phantom… all those things were unnecessary. There was no need for that majestic, appealing aura too.
Instead, all it needed was endless power, an endless amount of force that would propel it ever onward, killing and destroying anything that obstructed its path.
The road ahead was one of conflict;
The road ahead was filled with enemies;
And the road ahead was fated to be extremely hard.
However, his spear would still carve a path for him to walk... It would kill men, immortals, and devils. It would break the skies, sunder the earth and pierce the heavens – creating an immortal and unending path!
The black, phantom-like figure of the lion rushed forward, while Yueshi's spear traveled forth without making a sound, without releasing the tiniest bit of aura.
It only thrust forward, without booming shock-waves or air blasts, as if it was merely an ordinary speak strike.
The resulting sound of the contact between the two attacks drew the attention of many people and beasts; however, with the area having been consumed by a curtain of dust and a blood-red mist, they could not see anything.
Inside the mist, Yueshi used his spear to propel himself. With his hand over his mouth, he coughed blood despite trying to hold it back; the shock-wave from the two strikes caused his organs to be damaged.
'Fuck it.' He complained, noticing that he had been severely burned in several areas across his body.
His shoulder had also been wounded by the beast's claws, and the wound seemed quite deep, with blood flowing from it endlessly.
However, compared to Yueshi, the big lion had suffered even more from their battle and it was now lying a few meters away, whimpering.
Its lower body was no more, having been turned into blood mist – not even a piece remaining behind. If it wasn't because it used the thunder element to form a shield at the last moment, it would have been completely erased from this world.
Yet, if one looked at its eyes, one would not see rage nor unwillingness. Instead, it was as if he now recognized Yueshi, and was willing to die to his spear.
Yueshi could see reverence and respect, and at that moment he understood that, in the beasts' society, the strong were revered - like absolute rulers.
In this world, humans paid a lot of attention to power, and the strong could do anything, however, they were still civilized and did not face fights and more fights from the moment they were born.
In the wilds, however, beasts started to kill and slaughter from the moment they were born to the end of their lives. Those that were strong could rule ten thousand miles, while those that were weak would not live out of the infancy
Therefore, in the beast world, strength was all that mattered and nothing was more important.
Yueshi stumbled to move forward, deciding to end it with his spear instead of letting it just die from blood loss. This could be considered as him giving his opponent mercy, and also showing his respect toward it.
The lion's eyes seemed to hold a tinge of gratitude, though Yueshi could not be sure. However, that did not matter now.
His spear easily pierced its head and ended its life.
Then, right after, Yueshi retreated, aiming to go above the wall.
And well, with the support of his comrades, that was the easiest thing he did today despite his injuries.